General

Social Security Judges will allow witnesses in a Disability Hearing.

You have to decide whether they will help your case.

Medical records are the most important evidence in the case, however a witness may be important.

The disability hearing is only 30 minutes to 1 hour in length.

Most of the time will be spent on your testimony.

Sometimes I will use a letter from a close friend or family member to describe your limitations and how people help you out.

If seizures are involved I will usually have a witness testify.

Or if mental illness is claimed, I may call someone to testify about how it affects the person’s daily activities.

You must be careful to avoid making the Judge mad by wasting their time with unnecessary witnesses.

In any event, the witness will testify for only 5 to 10 minutes.

Some Judges like to play the gotcha game.

Some examples:

Why are you telling me you cannot work, and you have been telling the Unemployment office you are available for work.

You claim you lost 40 pounds the last year, but the medical records show you were the same weight this time last year.

When is the last time you smoked marijuana?

When is the last time you drank alcohol?

The point is that you need to be careful when testifying.

You can explain that you thought you may be able to work part time.

You need to answer as you best recall. For instance, I believe I have lost some weight over the last year.

Do not lie about drug or alcohol use. It will come back to haunt you.

You can explain that you have sought treatment for alcohol or drug abuse.

The most important part of your Social Security Disability hearing is testifying truthfully.

If the Judge believes you are untruthful, then you have lost.